Following
exploration of the coast in 1521 by Francisco de Gordillo, the Spanish tried unsuccessfully
to establish a colony near present-day Georgetown in 1526, and the French also
failed to colonize Parris Island near Fort Royal in 1562. The first English settlement
was made in 1670 at Albemarle Point on the Ashley River, but poor conditions drove
the settlers to the site of Charleston (originally called Charles Town).
South
Carolina, officially separated from North Carolina in 1729, was the scene of extensive
military action during the Revolution and again during the Civil War. The Civil
War began in 1861 as South Carolina troops fired on federal Fort Sumter in Charleston
Harbor, and the state was the first to secede from the Union.
Once
primarily agricultural, South Carolina today has many large textile and other
mills that produce several times the output of its farms in cash value. Charleston
makes asbestos, wood, pulp, steel products, chemicals, machinery, and apparel.
Farms
have become fewer but larger in recent years. South Carolina ranks third in peach
production; it ranks fourth in overall tobacco production. Other top agricultural
commodities include nursery and greenhouse products, watermelons, peanuts, broilers
and turkeys, and cattle and calves. The only commercial tea plantation in America
is 20 mi south of Charleston on Wadmalaw Island.
Points
of interest include Fort SumterNational Monument, Fort Moultrie, Fort Johnson,
and aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in Charleston Harbor; the Middleton, Magnolia,
and Cypress Gardens in Charleston; Cowpens National Battlefield; the Hilton Head
resorts; and the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden in Columbia.
Coming
Soon!
See
more on South Carolina: Encyclopedia: South Carolina Encyclopedia: Geography Encyclopedia:
Economy Encyclopedia: Government Encyclopedia: History Monthly Temperature
Extremes
Accredited
Colleges and Universities
Selected
famous natives and residents:
Bernard Baruch statesman; Mary McLeod
Bethune educator; James F. Byrnes senator, jurist and secretary of state;
John C. Calhoun statesman; Mark Clark general; Joe Frazier prize fighter;
Althea Gibson tennis champion; Dizzy Gillespie jazz trumpeter; DuBose
Heyward poet, playwright, and novelist; Andrew Jackson president; Jesse
Jackson civil rights leader; Eartha Kitt singer; Francis Marion (“Swamp
Fox”) Revolutionary general; Ronald McNair astronaut; John Rutledge
jurist; Strom Thurmond politician; Charles Townes physicist; William
Westmoreland general; Vanna White TV personality.
Capital:
Columbia
State
abbreviation/Postal code: S.C./SC
Governor:
Mark Sanford, R (to Jan. 2007)
Lieut.
Governor: R. Andre Bauer, R (to Jan. 2007)
Senators:
Jim De Mint, R (to Jan. 2011); Lindsey Graham, R (to Jan. 2009)
U.S.
Representatives: 6
Secy.
of State: Mark Hammond, R (to Jan. 2007)
Treasurer:
Grady L. Patterson, Jr. , D (to Jan. 2007)
Atty.
General: Henry McMaster, R (to Jan. 2007)
Entered
Union (rank): May 23, 1788 (8)
Present
constitution adopted: 1895
Mottoes:
Animis opibusque parati (Prepared in mind and resources) and Dum spiro spero (While
I breathe, I hope)
State
symbols: flower Carolina yellow jessamine (1924) tree palmetto tree (1939)
bird Carolina wren (1948) song “Carolina” (1911)
Nickname:
Palmetto State
Origin
of name: In honor of Charles I of England
10
largest cities (2003 est.): Columbia, 117,357; Charleston, 101,024; North
Charleston, 81,577; Rock Hill, 56,114; Greenville, 55,926; Mount Pleasant, 54,788;
Sumter, 39,790; Spartanburg, 38,718; Hilton Head Island, 34,407; Summerville,
31,734
Land
area: 30,109 sq mi. (77,982 sq km)
Geographic
center: In Richland Co., 13 mi. SE of Columbia
Number
of counties: 46
Largest
county by population and area: Greenville, 401,174 (2004); Horry, 1,134 sq
mi.
State
forests: 4
State
parks: 47 (80,000+ ac.)
Residents:
South Carolinian
2004
resident population est.: 4,198,068
2000
resident census population (rank): 4,012,012 (26). Male: 1,948,929 (48.6%);
Female: 2,063,083 (51.4%). White: 2,695,560 (67.2%); Black: 1,185,216 (29.5%);
American Indian: 13,718 (0.3%); Asian: 36,014 (0.9%); Other race: 39,926 (1.0%);
Two or more races: 39,950 (1.0%); Hispanic/Latino: 95,076 (2.4%). 2000 percent
population 18 and over: 74.8; 65 and over: 12.1; median age: 35.4.
